


Absence makes the heart grow fonder

by behzaintfunny



Category: Football RPF
Genre: But also they're so sickeningly in love they just love to say it, Domestic Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Love Confessions, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Transfer Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 17:17:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15199640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/behzaintfunny/pseuds/behzaintfunny
Summary: Across Turin, Milan and Paris, Gigi loves and is loved.





	Absence makes the heart grow fonder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [flamingosarepink](https://archiveofourown.org/users/flamingosarepink/gifts).



_Non posso vivere (I can't live)_

_Troppo bisogno di te (I need you too much)_

_Wish you decided to stay_

_We're too far, we're too far away_

_\--- "Telefono" Phoenix_

 

_***_

Turin bade him goodbye with one last moonlit sky. He couldn't hear a single soul, only the eerie whooshing of the wind. He knew he'd have to walk this path alone but he didn't expect it to be this overwhelming.

Idly, he wonders if the sound his suitcase makes against the pathway is how millions hearts breaking for him sound. He would have to clean the dust off the luggage. He isn't quite so sure he is going to be able to mend the people's feelings so easily.

It makes him remember Leo, how he felt when he left. Did he hate him? Not entirely. Is their love akin to the passion a fan feels for their club's legend? _No_ , he thinks. Their love is demanding and has to constantly be earned. Their love is the lingering touches on his hair and his shoulders, the thousands of people chanting his name and, most of all, the tears they shed for him.

Leo never cried for him once.

Facing a man so much greater than him on paper, Leo was childishly confident and refusing to feel small under his gaze. Matchday and matchday followed by another, he could never let it be shown that he felt nervous. Even when his heart started beating _rossoneri_ , he kept his feelings hidden and put the armband on.

On the beautiful beaches of Capri, though dazed and in utmost shock, not a single tear ran down his cheek as Gigi got down on one knee. Only then did Gigi see Leo's walls breaking, brick by brick, as Leo bit down on his free hand to refrain from making a sound. He can still feel the forceful grip he had on his torso, the quickened breathing against his neck, the cold ring digging into his back. Under the mesmerizing sunset, it was the closest he got to unconditional love.

His manager is expecting him in Paris the following day, not taking a no for an answer. Gigi looks back at the house he once used to call his home. His gaze lingers on the blood red curtains that adorn the living room. He remembers the fire's crackling every time Leo came over, demanding the warmth he so very lacks. All the flowers in the garden have died, long forgotten in the back of his mind. Maybe it's best he finally leaves this place and all the memories it holds. Though, he isn't entirely sure he craves a new start.

When the engine roars, it is not in anticipation of the airport. Gigi lets the wind blow in his hair as he makes way for the highway.

Goodbyes can't wait, he tells himself. _Neither can love_ , his heart tells him.

_***_

He slips into Leo's bed with such practised ease it is a miracle they aren't living together yet.

The bedding is lighter than he remembers and the ugly statuette on the night stand is gone. The bedroom is just as cold as it always has been, the bed being the only available source of warmth. As if Gigi needed any more invitations when Leo was splayed out against the cotton sheets in his full glory.

His hands on Gigi's body feel different. They are softer, as though they have been resting for millennia leading to this moment. He knows it cannot be true but he likes to think that Leo started taking care of himself properly. They warm up Gigi's back and it feels like a whole different man is caressing him, though it doesn't. Gigi blames the late hour to have made him this confused. It is still Leo in his fullest. His hands stop awkwardly at the curve of Gigi's arse, unable to make the next step. His buzzcut is burning his clean shaven chin and his feet are surprisngly cold. Gigi wouldn't have it any other way.

"Do you think we can still make it work?" Leo whispers against the skin covering his heart.

"Why couldn't we?" Gigi mumbles against his hair, "We made it work now. We're practically unstoppable."

"It's different and you know it."

Gigi's voice catches in his throat. He has no appropriate response to the unexpectedly heartfelt confession in the most broken of voices.

"I know we will make it work. There is no denying it." Gigi says confidently, "No Eiffel tower will ever make me question my love for you."

He feels Leo's soft laughter reverberating against his ribcage. He reaches to cup his face and brushes against the wrinkles adorning his eyes.

"Have you any idea just how much I love you?"

Leo shifts so that they are facing each other, blessing him with his most genuine smile, "I don't know, how much?"

His hand finds Leo's like it always does. His thumb caresses the engagement ring, the weight that shall forever hold his heart clutched. He'll never regret the proposal. He will regret that he couldn't give Leo the whole world and more.

"I love you so much it's going to drive me crazy and I will enjoy every second of it." he mumbles, lips pressing against the cold ring, "In Turin, in Milan and in Paris all the same."

"Is this what it felt like, Gigi?" Leo queries, "Is this how I made you feel when I left?"

"Only temporarily." Gigi tightens his grip on his hand, "I could never hate you for longer than a few hours at most."

"Fate's funny. We all seem to have a penchant for leaving the things we love."

Gigi whispers, "Things, yes. Not people."

"You're hurting me, Gigi. I never thought I would live up to this moment. You're going someplace I know I will never follow." Leo says quietly before looking him in the eye confidently, "Kiss me better."

And so he does.

Under the feather light covers, frenzied with kissing, straddled by the one man he ever truly loved, he is Gigi. Not the young boy finding his ways in Parma, not the canonized Juventus legend, nor the Paris Saint-Germain newest signing. He is Gigi and he is going to prolong this night to its utmost. His nails leave marks on Leo's thighs, his moans echo in the room and the one focus on his mind is the angle at which Leo's head falls back.

Milan bids him goodbye with one last feeling of true belonging and a heavy heart.

_***_

Paris is like an odd glimmer. It is enticing to him for reasons he cannot explain. It greets him with a shiver caused by the morning breeze and unease alike.

He wouldn't have left Turin unless he wanted to. As he walks the streets of Paris, pleasantly anonymous still, he thinks he might call his town home eventually, maybe. Maybe not. The future has never been quite so uncertain.

He poses for videos and smiles on camera. He means it, genuinely, and that alone surprises him the most. He expected to feel a lot of emotions, happiness, too, but not so quickly. It seems that life is still able to surprise him, after all this time.

Gigi decides he is going to wear a ring, too. He never cared much that Leo was the only one of the two that boasted about being engaged. He was never that sort of man to begin with. Now, in the so-called city of love, it feels necessary. He buys one as similar to the one he got Leo as possible, hoping it'll connect him to him until their paths inevitably cross.

He lounges in the patio of his hotel room. Buying an apartment so soon after the arrival felt all too irrational even for him. It made him feel closer to the house he abandoned in Turin and the home he left in Milan.

It made him feel like he truly belonged somewhere. Like he has someplace he can come back to.

His hand finds his phone sooner than he had expected. He doesn't bother looking at the social media, knowing what would be found there. It's too early still to deal with all those powerful emotions that aren't his. He dials the only person he could call in this situation. As though there ever was somebody else.

He leaves Leo but a second to catch his breath before speaking.

"Marry me, Leo." he rushes.

He can almost feel Leo biting down on his lip nervously like he always does. He feels cruel, almost, for putting him in this situation. Then again, we're all a little crazy and a little cruel.

Leo weighs his words, "I've already said yes, Gigione. You don't need to ask me twice."

Gigi sips on his wine lazily. The Eiffel tower seemingly glows at him, or maybe it's the alcohol, encouraging him to go on. For a moment, he believes all the tales and the stories about Paris having magical powers in regards to love. He throws his head back, looks at the clear sky and sighs.

"Marry me in Paris, Leo. Please. I cannot wait any longer."

This time, Leo doesn't bite down on his lip, nor his hand. Gigi revels in the gasp that escapes his lips. It causes him to smile involuntarily, imaginary butterflies in his stomach. It gives him terrific satisfaction to have broken the walls Leo had built for himself all those years ago.

He hears Leo make a strained noise on the other side of the phone. Somehow, he knows they're going to be okay no matter what. He fiddles with the ring on his finger.

"Yes. Gigi, yes."

Gigi laughs before stretching his legs. Sunlight had never felt quite so pleasant. It's the same sun that shines in Milan, after all. He hopes Leo catches some of it, too.

**Author's Note:**

> For my friend Aviana, who constantly puts up with my crying over Leo and Gigi by adding her crying over Leo and Gigi. This little thing is the least you deserve. I really hope you liked it.
> 
> As always, kudos and comments are mead to my soul! <3


End file.
